This invention relates to apparatus for the forming of fence posts, particularly from concrete casting material. It relates particularly to the forms employed in such apparatus.
Due to the increased cost of lumber, it has become increasingly desirable to fabricate fence posts from non-wood materials. Reinforced concrete provides a particularly suitable material for this purpose. It is impervious to weathering, resists deterioration from the soil bacteria which limit the life of wood posts, has high strength, and gives an aesthetically pleasing appearance. The primary problem with concrete fence posts in the past has been in devising forming means to fabricate an adequate supply at a low cost.
The desirable orientation of molds in which concrete posts are cast is vertical. Firstly, vertical orientation takes up less space than horizontal orientation. Secondly, vertical molds allow the weight of the plastic casting material to compact and settle the cement aggregate, giving a stronger product with a finer surface finish.
The prior art molds, however, have generally been designed for horizontal casting. This has been due to the obvious problems associated with filling and transporting heavy vertical molds. This is especially true if an assembly line forming operation is desired wherein the molds are moved from station to station during the forming operation.
In addition, most of the prior art molds have had one or more of their side walls removable for emptying of the mold. This increases the difficulty of vertical assembly-line forming and allows a high rate of water evaporation from the mold during the curing stage.
Accordingly, the general object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for vertical forming of fence posts.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus having a horizontal track suspended to allow free access underneath.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus having molds vertically carried by the track for casting of the fence posts.
It is a further object of the present invention that the molds comprise an elongate tube open at both ends.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide mold support means to suspend the molds from the track and allow transportation of the molds from station to station on the track.
It is a further object of the present invention that the mold support means be removable from the track.